`cane Fans See Green At Banquet

PEOPLETALK

August 10, 1986|By MARTHA GROSS, Staff Writer

Rah! Rah! Sis, boom, bah! No one had to cheer on the 430 people who swarmed into the Bahia Mar Hotel in Fort Lauderdale the night of July 31. The occasion was the eighth annual kickoff banquet of the Broward County Hurricane Club of the University of Miami, and those fans, believe me, would have traipsed over to Tampa if they`d been asked to. We`re talking more than enthusiasm here. We`re talking fierce loyalty. We`re talking passion.

Those fans came to meet the players -- John O`Neil, Rod Carter, Bobby Garcia, Bobby Harden, Mike Irvin, Brian and Benny Blades, Sandy Jack, Steve Rosinski and the one and only Vinny Testaverde. They came to watch a happy filmed review of last year`s highlights. (Notably missing was any footage on the team`s wipeout defeat in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. This was not the night for painful memories. Forget we mentioned it.)

Those fans came to meet Broward`s super-duper fan Irving ``Doc`` Lebow, and Father Leo Armbrust of Boca Raton, the Catholic priest who is fan and friend to the team and vice versa. They came to chat with coach Jimmy Johnson about the team`s chances this year. So much, Johnson says, depends on the players` physical condition. ``Not that they`re so fragile. But they have some violent collisions out on that field.``

Mark Rael brought his son Craig, 16. Richard Yavner brought his son Michael, 13, who was thrilled to get Testaverde`s autograph.

And Pete Ewart was there. (Ewart was probably a spy from the University of Florida? He didn`t wear green. And he sported a gold lapel pin that looked suspiciously like an alligator. How does that add up to you?)

The University`s colors were flying high. At the ballroom entrance, there was a kind of McDonald`s arch made of orange, green and white balloons. Green and orange ribbons trimmed the tables. And it seemed every other person in the ballroom was garbed in those colors. Gaye Fallis wore a green print dress. Ed Hamilton, lawyer Neil Frank, Bob Dooley and Don Works were among the many men wearing green jackets.

But Lebow took the prize. He wore orange pants, a green jacket with an orange hankie in the pocket as well as an orange and green tie. And would you believe orange and green shoes? ``I even wear orange underwear,`` Lebow admitted. ``If you`re going to do this much, you might as well go all the way.``